For
several minutes after the LSU dugout cleared Saturday night, junior Kurt McCune
stood on the railing in front and peered out at the Alex Box Stadium diamond.

Thinking.
Forming a vision. Getting ready.

McCune
will get the start on the mound Sunday against South Carolina, thrusting him back
squarely in the SEC spotlight for the first time since the end of his freshman
season in 2011.

The
former Destrehan star earned the shot with five strong abbreviated performances
since he returned from a stress fracture in his back, the last four have been
scoreless stints when he has progressively gotten better.

The
No. 2-ranked Tigers (39-5, 16-4 SEC) and No. 10/11-ranked Gamecocks (32-12,
12-8) are scheduled to get started at 2 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium. Carolina
forced a decisive third game with a 4-2 victory on Saturday after won the
opener 5-2.

Kurt McCuneLSUSports.net

"I'm
super excited not only because it's my first start, but because I get to help
my team win the series," said McCune, who is 3-0 this season after winning only
3 games in a rocky sophomore season. "After a game like (Saturday), it definitely
puts another chip on my shoulder. I'm ready to come out throwing strikes."

Starting
against SEC foes is not a foreign concept to McCune. Two years ago he spent
most of the conference season as the Tigers' Friday night starter and went 4-3
in 10 league starts.

That was part of a 7-4 freshman season when LSU won more
games that he started (9) than anyone else.

While
there might be subtle difference in preparation for a series opener than the
finale, McCune is boiling his thought process down as simple as he can.

"The
game is the same no matter what day you pitch on," he said. "You just have to
go out and throw strikes."

And
be ready to sidestep trouble, a trait McCune struggled with at times last
season when bad innings snowballed quickly.

LSU
coach Paul Mainieri sees a more mature pitcher ready to step back into the
limelight.

"I
know Kurt has been waiting for this chance, and I believe he's going to go out
there and compete really hard," Mainieri said.

Maturity level on full display

LSU
shortstop Alex Bregman played the kind of role in the outcome on Saturday he's
not used to, as his two errors on fairly routine ground balls led to both of
the Gamecocks' two-run innings.

Alex BregmanLSUSports.net

Afterward,
the 19-year-old freshman didn't flinch when asked about his mistakes.

"I
tried to come in and get that last one and hit off the palm of my glove," he
said. "There's no excuse for it. I should've made the play."

"Alex
has played so great for us at shortstop all year, the last thing I want anybody
to do is blame him," the seventh-year LSU coach said.

Bregman
collected a pair of hits in the loss to keep his SEC-best batting average at
.406. He said he won't let the errors linger in his mind.

"I
don't think it's that tough to come back from," he said. "You come to the park
every day with the same mentality - trying to go win games for LSU and that's
what I'm going to do (Sunday). Come out and do anything I can to help the team
win."

Boiling point

While
a 9th-inning balk call by home-plate umpire Fred Cannon was the
tipping point, there was plenty of pent-up frustration leading up to Mainieri's
ejection -- just the second of his LSU career.

Cannon's
strike zone was inconsistent much of the night, and particularly squeezed
Tigers' starter Ryan Eades. Inside-corner strikes were almost impossible to
get, and that forced Eades to challenge Gamecocks' hitters with fastballs more
often than he wanted.